مطالب

Purpose- Empowering women is essential for the development of any country across economic, social, political, and other dimensions. When a woman is empowered, she gains the opportunity to better understand and advocate for her rights, thereby enhancing her economic and social standing. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to identify and examine the most significant factors influencing the empowerment of rural women and to classify these factors based on their relative importance using a qualitative meta-analysis approach. Design/methodology/approach- In this study, from a total of 73 published articles on the topic of rural women's empowerment, 48 relevant articles were selected based on their alignment with the research objectives and their use of fieldwork and literature-based methodologies. The timeframe for the domestic studies ranged from 2012 to and for international studies from 2011 to 2024. Initially, the research problem and objectives were defined, and then, among the available studies, those meeting the inclusion criteria were sampled. The data extracted from these studies were then collected, coded, and categorized based on the research aims. Ultimately, the findings were standardized to a common scale to allow for comparison. The geographical scope of the selected studies included Iran, as well as countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.  Findings- The results indicate that in the economic domain, income generation (17.1%), employment (13.8%), access to loans and banking facilities, and land ownership (9.2%) are among the most influential factors. In the socio-cultural domain, factors such as literacy and education (8.5%), cultural norms (7.6%), and knowledge and skills (6.7%) play a critical role. In the psychological domain, self-confidence (14.4%), the ability to make independent choices (9.8%), and self-esteem (8.5%) were key determinants. Politically, mobility freedom (26.1%), women's participation in managerial and governmental positions (19.1%), and restrictive governmental regulations (14.2%) were the most significant. Among these categories, political factors accounted for the largest share (12.4%), followed by economic (5.5%), psychological (3.5%), and socio-cultural (3.2%) factors in contributing to the overall empowerment of women. Originality / Value- The findings of this study can contribute to identifying the most critical factors affecting the empowerment of rural women and can inform the development of effective support policies. Such policies may include promoting gender awareness through mass media, forming rural self-help groups through governmental and non-governmental organizations to provide social and economic support and etc.

Purpose- During the 21st century, ecotourism has become a mainstream alternative for tourists. It is a critical approach to integrating economic growth with the protection of the environment, ensuring sustainable tourism while at the same time transforming modalities of tourism. The aim of the research is to evaluate the impacts of ecotourism in the southern slopes of the Alborz region by utilizing the DPSIR approach. Design/methodology/approach- The research location is the old settlements from Kan to Darabad that enjoy a large tourism potential with various attractions (natural, human, infrastructural, and physical). The sites enjoy a combination of tourism activities (ecotourism, cultural, sportive, food, and religious). The research is applied research in objective and descriptive-analytical in method. The data has been collected through library research (statistical and documentary) and field research (survey and interviews). Findings - The research population in this study included 30 experts, including experts in field of tourism, professors from universities, officials from the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization of Tehran, and officials from various related organizations, selected with the Delphi method. The research tried to evaluate the effects of ecotourism in the southern slopes of Alborz by utilizing the DPSIR approach, which showed that environmental effects at the five-element level -Driving Force, Pressure, State, Impact, and Response- make it possible to undertake a cause-and-effect analysis of environmental pressures from ecotourism. The results of the research identified 10 driving forces, 7 pressure elements, 9 state indicators, and 9 effects. The main response favored policy-making, strategic planning, and management in utilizing natural and human opportunities, capabilities, and resources of the southern slopes of Alborz. The goal is to achieve sustainable development of tourism and the region through nature-based integrated sustainable tourism by converting current challenges and weaknesses into strengths and windows of opportunities. Research limitations/implications - The vast geographical region that is encompassed by the research from Kan to Darabad was prone to numerous limitations, including the non-availability of official data pertaining to the volume of tourists and tourism-based attributes of the research region, non-response of certain tourists to certain questions that were asked during the survey, and time limitations for the completion of the questionnaire. Originality/value - The research employed the use of past research to promote theoretical research discussion and to seek alternative research indicators through the use of scoring with the DPSIR methodology.

Purpose- Nigeria remains heavily import-dependent and under-industrialized despite abundant natural resources and repeated industrial development programmes. This study investigated how capital market efficiency and financial innovation influence industrialization in Nigeria, with specific focus on their relevance for rural and regional economic transformation. Design/methodology/approach- The study employed an ex-post facto research design using secondary annual time-series data from 2010-2023 obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin. Descriptive statistics and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model were applied to examine both short-run and long-run relationships among stock market depth and liquidity, stock market efficiency, fintech adoption, credit to the private sector, inflation, and industrial output. The study also emphasized the rural and regional development implications of financial sector performance. Finding- Results showed that Nigeria’s manufacturing sector contribution to GDP remains structurally low, and market depth is highly volatile. Fintech adoption exhibits the highest dispersion due to periodic surges in electronic payments, while stock market liquidity is relatively stable. ARDL estimates reveal that market liquidity and market depth exert positive and significant effects on industrialization, whereas fintech adoption and private-sector credit exert negative significant effects. Inflation is insignificant. The bounds test confirms strong long-run cointegration among the variables. The findings indicated that Nigeria’s industrialisation is largely driven by short-run financial dynamics, particularly stock market liquidity and credit allocation efficiency. High fintech activity, when weakly regulated, may facilitate capital flight and reduce productive sector investment. Strengthening capital-market institutions, stabilising monetary conditions, and improving rural credit access are essential for sustainable industrial development. Originality/value– This study contributed to the industrialization literature by integrating capital-market efficiency, financial innovation, and rural or regional development perspectives within a unified ARDL framework for Nigeria. It provided new evidence on how financial sector dynamics shape industrial growth in emerging economies.